Greater New Orleans

Cousins Anthony Stove Jr., a senior at Parkview Baptist, and Johnathan Stove, a freshman at Louisiana-Lafayette take pride in their family's name being recognized among high school basketball fans. (Jerit Roser, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

By
Jerit Roser, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on July 11, 2014 1:15 PM

The cousins' focus on the legacy of their last name within the area basketball community makes the upcoming year particularly interesting as Johnathan leaves Baton Rouge for Louisiana-Lafayette after a standout high school career and Anthony begins enjoying increased exposure entering his senior season at Parkview Baptist.

"It's very important," Johnathan says. "I guess because it's kind of a unique name. There's not a lot of people named Stove, so when you hear that, you kind of know it's us. The legacy that I've left, I feel, is pretty good. I feel like I've left something people can remember me by … We don't talk about it much, but when we do, it's kind of like, 'You've got to live up to it.' Not to put pressure on him, but we want me to be good, but for him to be better. Since he's younger than me, whatever I learned, he can take from me and then learn more, too."

No pressure, Anthony.

All Johnathan did was finish his Christian Life career as a LSWA Class 1A all-state, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune All-Baton Rouge Area and District 6-1A Player of the Year to continue a long resume that already included two state championships, three previous all-district selections and two previous all-state selections.

"I know I have a lot to look up to," Anthony said. "He's a good role model, also, to look up to, and just to play behind that name and keep it up in the state and in the family, it's a lot of encouragement and motivation for this being my senior year … He's been a standout for the past four years. It doesn't get to me, really, because I know who he is and how he plays, and he's earned that name to be the main Stove that everyone talks about. It just gets me more motivated to go out there and do better and make my Stove name equal to him."

The mindset of representing the family name came, at least to some degree, from the young duo's fathers, Ben Jr. and Anthony Sr., who each began their own high school careers at Capitol before transferring to Istrouma and Southern Lab, respectively.

"When you say, 'Stove,' you know it's in this family," Anthony Sr. says. "As far as watching them play, we never really pushed them to play. We knew they were both very athletically inclined, because the family is. We just pretty much told 'em, especially with Anthony (Jr.), 'Whichever sport you choose, we're gonna go with it,' but it was hard to see either one of 'em not playing basketball, because that's what we did — and were pretty good at it. But I thought either one of these kids could've played any sport they wanted, but it's just a blessing to see them grow up and be such good young men, especially in a time right now where there's so much trouble with kids."

Johnathan has faith his cousin will do the Stove name proud as this generation of basketball players, led off by Johnathan's older brother Ben III's days at Catholic-Baton Rouge, finish their collective high school tenure.

Anthony hadn't had much chance to rival the notoriety of the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Johnathan until now.

Ben III, Johnathan and Anthony Jr. played basketball together throughout their childhood.

Hours would fly by, Johnathan and Anthony Jr. recall, during evenings of games in otherwise empty gymnasiums with albums such as Drake's "Thank Me Later" providing the soundtrack.

Johnathan realized relatively early on that he wanted to devote himself to the sport.

The revelation came later for Anthony Jr., and fittingly enough, Johnathan played a role there as well.

"Johnathan's right when he says that at first I didn't really take basketball that seriously," Anthony Jr. says. "But I can honestly say I can remember the first day I started to and that I wanted to motivate myself is when he won his first championship with Christian Life, when he was in eighth grade. That meant a lot to me. Even though I didn't win it, I saw everything he accomplished that year, and that's when I said, 'I really wanna take this seriously and hopefully win that championship one day.'"

The duo very nearly teamed up when Anthony Jr. considered transferring from Redemptorist to Christian Life after his freshman year of high school before ultimately choosing Parkview Baptist.

"I really wanted to go to Christian Life, because that was around the time when I really wanted to start taking basketball more seriously, and I knew the program at Christian Life, that their tradition was really about taking basketball serious on and off the court," Anthony Jr. says. "But I only thought, with the Stove name, I kind of wanted to separate myself a little bit to make my own name, so I decided to go to a different school, and Parkview was a good school and had a good program with Coach (Don) Green."

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound fellow guard, longer and thinner than his older cousin, sat out his sophomore season after transferring and then played a limited, reserve role behind a group of Parkview Baptist seniors this past year.

"It's been kind of rough at times, honestly," Anthony Jr. says. "I was impatient a lot. Kind of at the beginning of the year, it got to me, but I just paced myself and let everything flow and just got used to the system."

Some of the best advice Anthony Jr. said he received during those years came from Johnathan.

"I think the best advice he's given me is just to be patient," Anthony Jr. says. "I remember one time, he said things may not always go my way on the court, but I just need to be patient, and everything will work out. And he constantly used to just stress to me about getting in the gym with him and working to get my body bigger because he knows how it is and how I need to prepare myself, especially trying to go on to the next level."

The wait seems over.

Anthony Jr. heads into his senior year his family's final representative of the current generation and preparing for a starting role with the Eagles.

Anthony Sr. is excited his son will finally get an opportunity to take center stage, in both capacities, as a few colleges begin to take notice.

"Now, when you say, 'Stove,' Johnathan's taken the name to another level," Anthony Sr. says. "All Anthony (Jr.) has to do is pretty much, like I tell them, piggyback on that and keep rollin' with it, you know? Which is a good thing. Now, Anthony is pretty much the last of the Stoves for now, so with him it ends. I'll tell you, though, it's something."

Johnathan will keep his cousin's progress on his radar.

His main responsibilities, though, now lie in his push to make a name for himself and his family on the next level with the Ragin' Cajuns.

"It's been different just being on my own," Johnathan said. "But it's been something I've been used to. Christian Life prepared me very well for workouts and stuff like that. People ask me if I'm gonna replace (former UL-Lafayette standout) Elfrid Payton. I feel like it's hard to replace a guy like that, but I just feel like I just have to come it and do what my coaches ask me to do."